A/N: 200 reviews! Wow! That was like, a fantasy when I started this story! Thank you all so much for your support!
NightW2: You were close to the 200th review, you were the 201st! Thank you dude, you've been a constant supporter, and I really appreciate it!
Yaarp16: Thank you for the review! Yeah, I'll continue to write FanFics, I really enjoy it. I've already got a couple of stories planned, if you want, I can e-mail you or something and tell you about them.
Rock Raider: Actually, I thought of the name when I was thinking of a name for Serenity. It just kinda popped in there as a name for something that's the opposite of Chaos. Thank you for the reviews man!
Xoverguy: Well dude, you're my 200th reviewer! Thank you for the kind reviews, and I hope to see more of Defender up soon!
CryptimEgyptian: Glad to see you're back! Sorry to hear about the leg, I hope that heals quickly and without pain.
Ted: Well, the way I see it, Stitch has a computer system in him right? So the Code is like binary, an anti virus system.
Kioko: Thanks for all those reviews man, glad you like the story!
For anyone else that's confused about the Seraphim Code, reread the flashback at the end of the chapter, Just Friends? And check out the video tape part in the chapter, The Chaos Theory. Sorry if I confused anyone, and I'm sorry for this long Author's Note, now, on to the story!
The Seraphim Code.
Stitch's mind whirled. Perhaps it was because of the recent revelation, or perhaps it was because of all the blows that Chaos had given him. Yet, Stitch remembered the past events, sitting in Jumba's lab, receiving the final upgrades, and Jumba giving him the shot, the shot filled with the golden liquid. Stitch thought back to Ganymede, remembered the video tape, he remembered, that the ultimate power, the Seraphim Code, was lost, and no one knew where it was hidden. Stitch thought about it, the ultimate power, flowed through his veins...
Chaos stared down into Stitch's eyes, reading Stitch's thoughts. Chaos spoke, "I've scoured the universe, searching for the beast that hid the code, searching for the one. The thought, of the ultimate power lying within one of you...sinners...was beyond me."
Stitch looked at Chaos, and said, "You...call us...sinners? With...the atrocities...you have committed?"
Chaos shook his head, and lifted Stitch up, and slammed him into the nearest pillar, holding him there. Chaos walked to him, and said, "Tell me Stitch, what is your primary function? What is the purpose for which you were created?"
Stitch looked at Chaos with narrowed eyes, and said, "You can't...go by our primary functions...I've overcome that...al-...almost all of the experiments...have overcome their...evil tendencies..."
Chaos smirked, "Still, the fact remains that you were created for one thing...to destroy. The fact remains that you were created with the means to destroy. You were created for evil purposes, therefore you are basically evil..."
Stitch grew angry, he almost spat the words back at Chaos, "You...bastard! You hunted us, you...killed innocents! How do you justify Mertle Edmonds! How do...you justify killing an innocent girl!"
Chaos glared dangerously at Stitch. Stitch held his glare. Chaos spoke in an equally dangerous tone, "The girl was associated with 6-6-7. She was associated with a sinner. Therefore, she was indeed, a sinner."
Stitch almost shouted his reply, "You imply the guilt of association! And you...say that your own...sister is a sinner? You're...sick..."
Chaos smirked at Stitch's reply, and said, "She is no sister of mine, no, not that pathetic weakling. Now Stitch, we have digressed from the main point for too long, I WANT the Seraphim Code. And you're going to give it to me..."
Chaos lifted Stitch high into the air, and brought him crashing down with savage force. Stitch hit the hard marble floor, and began to panic. He didn't know how to unleash the Seraphim Code, he didn't even fully know if the code was within him. Chaos walked to Stitch's side, and said, "Now, are you going to release it, or am I going to have to beat it out of you?"
Stitch looked at Chaos, and spat blood in his face. Chaos wiped away the blood, and his twisted smile disappeared. He looked at Stitch with pure contempt, and lifted Stitch high in the air, and once again brought him crashing down. Stitch heard a loud popping noise, and suddenly felt a fiery pain in his left arm. Chaos did not let up, he brought up the darkness in the form of a giant fist, and it slammed into Stitch. Stitch felt the breath leave him, and he lay on the ground, gasping for air.
Chaos walked over to him, and kneeled down, his eyes seemed to glow red. Chaos looked at Stitch, and grabbed Stitch by the ears and lifted his head. Chaos looked at Stitch with disgust, and said, "It is sickening that they would hide such a power within a weakling like you. Now, give me the code, or I will make you suffer..."
Stitch looked at him, and said through gasping breaths, "I...don't know...how...to use...it..."
Chaos grinned, and said, "Very well...we'll do it the hard way."
From above, Lilo watched in horror as Chaos flung Stitch's limp form around the room. Stitch slammed into pillars, flew into the air only to crash into the hard floor below, and endured painful blow after blow, only to have Chaos lean down again, and ask him the same question. Lilo turned away, tears streamed down her eyes. She saw the rest of the family, they were all looking onward with fear in their eyes. Gloria stood in the corner, watching with a terrified expression on her face. Lilo thought, 'This must be really terrifying for Gloria, before this summer, I doubt she believed in aliens...'
Lilo's worries quickly turned back to Stitch. She thought about him, and she grew afraid. She didn't want to lose him, she couldn't bear the thought. There had to be something! Anything that would turn the tide of this battle. Lilo began to grow frantic, she was worried, everything seemed to be going so wrong so fast.
Lilo turned around, and saw Jumba. Unlike the rest of them, Jumba had a quizzical look on his face, as if he was pondering a great riddle. Lilo thought, 'He must know...he must know how to activate the code!'
Lilo walked quickly to Jumba, and in a panicked voice, asked, "Jumba! You have to know! How does Stitch activate the Seraphim Code!"
Jumba turned to the frantic Lilo, and said, quite calmly, "I am not knowing."
Lilo grabbed Jumba's arm, and shook it violently, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW? YOU IMPLANTED IT! SURELY YOU KNOW WHAT IT DOES!"
Jumba shook lose of Lilo's powerful grip, and said, "I know what it does, yes I do. But, the way to activate the code is complicated, you see, it really is being reliant on the person the code has inhabited. The code could be activating for a number of reasons."
Lilo stared at Jumba, and Jumba continued talking, "You see, it was two weeks after the attack at Ganymede that I received the Code. The note was attached, it read, 'Jumba Jookiba, this is Dr. Daimon of Ganymede Research. Enclosed is what I have dubbed, The Seraphim Code. It will be the final resort to stopping experiment 6-6-6. I entrust to you the authority to implant it in any of your experiments, but choose wisely. The fate of the universe may rest in this Code."
Lilo stared at Jumba, a look of understanding on her face. Jumba continued, "At the time, I was installing 6-2-6's genetic enhancements, it was the perfect opportunity to install the Seraphim Code without him knowing."
Lilo was confused, and she asked, "But...why did you not want Stitch to know?"
Jumba closed his eyes, and said, "Experiment 6-6-6 has the ability to read minds. If he should find the Seraphim Code, and absorb it, he will be unstoppable. It was necessary to keep the Code a secret from Stitch, so Chaos could not find it as easily. Yet, now we have this problem. I am hoping that 6-2-6 will be finding a way to activate the Code, or all is lost..."
The feeling of fear grew once again in Lilo. She couldn't bear the thought of losing Stitch, she couldn't bare the thought of losing him. Yet all she could do, was wait, and see...feeling helpless not to help the one she loved.
Lilo turned her attention back to the battle, where Stitch was lying once again on his back...
Stitch was sore all over. Pain blurred his thoughts and vision. Chaos had put him through the ringer, slamming him all around the room. Stitch tried to raise up, but found that he couldn't move, his energy was all wasted, spent in the battle and trying to breathe. Chaos walked over to Stitch, and stood above him, watching Stitch with those horrible red eyes.
Chaos stared at Stitch, and said, "If you will not release the code, and allow me to take it, then I must use drastic measures."
Stitch looked at him, unable to move. Yet he found the energy to speak, "I don't...understand...what...does the...Seraphim Code...do..."
Chaos grinned, and said, "You are truly pathetic. Given the ultimate power, and you lack the knowledge to harness it. I might as well indulge you, I'll call it a final wish. The Seraphim Code is a binary enhancement. By injecting it into your system, it has infused with your DNA, in turn, becoming part of you. It lies dormant, waiting for you to awaken it, yet you seem to have no idea of how exactly to go about that. But, once activated, the Code will charge your systems, giving you power of both the light and dark. It is an anti virus, an overdrive, the ultimate power source, and to this day I do not understand why they decided to give it to you, to this day that bewilders me."
Stitch took all of this in, and his mind churned, 'Overdrive. That's how I can stop him...but how?'
Chaos looked at Stitch, and said, "Well, now you know, I hope that last bit of information has given you some solace, because now it is time for you to die."
Chaos brought the darkness to Stitch's feet, and it slowly began to wind its way up Stitch's legs, absorbing Stitch into Chaos. From above, there was a cry, and the sound of someone sobbing. Stitch knew who it was, and despite himself, allowed tears to run down his cheek. The darkness wound up to Stitch's waist, absorbing him into the void. Stitch tried to struggle, attempted to break free of the darkness. His heart raced, sweat beaded on his brow, and tears solemnly rolled down his cheek. The darkness reached his chest, and Stitch thought of Lilo.
Chaos looked at Stitch, and said, "Oh, don't worry about your little friend, I will have my fun with her, and she will die, and you will see her again, in everlasting darkness."
Stitch glared at Chaos, and tried to speak, but the darkness wrapped itself around Stitch's mouth. Chaos watched, and as the darkness covered Stitch's eyes, he heard Chaos speak, "Judgement... above all things. There will be no afterlife for you, only everlasting darkness..."
The darkness covered Stitch, and he was absorbed into it. The darkness wound itself around, and pulled back into Chaos. Chaos smiled, and said, "Your atonement, shall come with years of suffering."
From above the room, Lilo cried openly, and fell to her knees. The rest of the family watched on in horror. And Serenity awoke, yet she already knew what had happened, she knew what fate had befallen Stitch. Lilo continued to cry, and moaned, "Stitch..."
Chaos watched all of this, this delicious horror, and waited, for the sweet power to fill him, the power of the code...
All was darkness, all was silent. There was nothing, yet there was everything. It was a paradoxical wasteland. The darkness swirled and plummeted, running all around, swirling in the void. Stitch fell through the darkness, floating in it. He was cold, everything was cold, everything was lifeless. All around him, there seemed to be a thick black fog. The fog swirled and crashed, all to the deafening sound of silence.
Stitch fell, he couldn't feel anymore, he couldn't feel. His eyes saw, yet they couldn't really see. His body was limp, it felt as if his limbs were leaden. Nothing worked, nothing cared anymore. His heart, his heart didn't beat.
Stitch fell, thinking, his thoughts seemed to be the only thing that would work in this place. He seemed to recall a battle, there was a dark being there, and the dark being was winning, he thought of another, a small white experiment, then he thought of something, something called the Black Virus, he thought of these things, they seemed to play on in his mind, but he couldn't remember any of the details. All these things, he thought of, all these things he remembered, and his heart didn't beat. But there was something missing, there was something that he couldn't remember...something that was lost in the void...
Stitch turned in the darkness. Sliding on, continued to sail through the void, falling fast and slow at the same time. Stitch wore a stupid grin on his face, a defeated grin, a tired grin. All of this had started at the beginning of what was beginning to look like the worst summer of his life. Stitch remembered other summers, laughing and playing, always having a good time.
There was someone there, there was someone that was always there with him in those good times, someone that seemed to brighten the day. She was a lovely girl, he remembered her when she was young, then a teenager, then a beautiful woman. Her face, her eyes, her hair, everything about her, seemed to make everything right. Everything she did, seemed perfect, and he remembered, that wherever he was, she was there...
His heart beat...a loud resounding thump in the darkness...
It was a long time ago, they were young, and playing on the beach. She was happy, building a sand castle in the beach with two others, the two others were named Nani and David. Stitch remembered watching, happily watching, not wanting to disturb their fun, not wanting to wreck anything. The girl, she turned to him, and motioned him to come and join the fun. Stitch felt warm that she had invited him...who was she?
His heart beat, louder this time...
Some more came to him, another memory of good times. Stitch remembered them, he remembered another time. He was with an older version of the girl, she was twirling around in a hula outfit. Stitch remembered, it was a big competition, and the girl, she had been looking forward to it for a long time. She twirled around in her new outfit, she looked at him, and he smiled. She asked him how the outfit looked, if it made her look pretty. Stitch smiled, and said that it wouldn't take an outfit to do that. She smiled back, and gave him a hug, Stitch felt warmer with the touch...she was so kind...
Thump...thump...his heart beat louder...
He was standing outside, waiting for her to come out. Waiting outside the school, waiting for her, the same girl. Stitch was disguised as a dog, trying to look like a lonely puppy, waiting for its owner. She came out of the door, a taller prettier teenage girl. She was surrounded by her friends, she had become very popular. She turned, and saw Stitch sitting, waiting for her. She smiled, and waved good-bye to her friends, and went to Stitch. She bent down beside him, and ruffled his fur, asking how his day was...why couldn't he remember her name?
His heart...his heart began to beat...steadily...
Stitch stood tall now. She was there, but...she was with someone else. Stitch watched her with him, watched as she gave all of her attention to another, watched as she held him with love. Stitch felt angry, and jealously, but he didn't want to say anything, why? He only wanted her to be happy, that was all that mattered to him...her name...what was her name?
Beating on...his heart beat strongly...
Stitch held her in his arms, they danced and twirled, dancing under the stars. Nothing mattered, it was only the two of them, as it was in the beginning. Two outcasts, two people that fate had tested to the breaking point. It was only them, just the two of them at last. Stitch held her in his arms, all of it feeling just too right. She gazed at him, and he felt that he would drown in those deep brown eyes. The song was coming to an end, and she leaned close. Stitch felt himself pulled to her, drawn to her like metal to the magnet. They reached each other, and met in a kiss. Stitch never wanted that moment to end...her name...he knew her name...
His heart beat on...and slowly, his eyes began to see...
Her name. Everything that mattered was in that name. Everything that had happened to him, every painful thing, that name brought him comfort. His destructive tendencies, were put to rest with that name. His sadness, cast away when she was near. When she was near, nothing else seemed to matter...
Lilo...her name was...Lilo...
Stitch seemed to awaken. He looked around the void. Realization dawned on him. He knew, he knew that Lilo was outside this place.
Thoughts of Lilo in harm hit him. Thoughts of Lilo, and that monster, the monster that had torn his world apart, was harming her. The monster, the demon, the darkness, the bane of his life, was outside, and worse, he was with her...
Stitch's heart beat wildly, he felt stronger. A wild feeling filled him, fueled him. Stitch gritted his teeth...
More thoughts. Everything he knew...everything he had loved. The demon...the demon had a name too. The demon was always there...always watching. Stitch knew, he knew that the demon had to be stopped, the demon must pay for his crimes. Stitch knew, that if he did not break free, that the demon would harm Lilo...what was the demon's name...
Chaos...the demon...he was called...
"CHAOS!" Stitch screamed in the void.
His heart burned, his eyes blazed. He felt as if his insides were on fire. His hatred burned with a white hot intensity. And somewhere, somewhere deep inside of him, something clicked. Something locked away, something burned, something broke loose. It was a wonderful, yet horrible power, something meant to be locked away yet used at the same time...
Stitch closed his eyes, and thought. He remembered Lilo, remembered Chaos. He remembered, and his anger boiled, anger that Chaos would harm Lilo. Inside himself, his innards burned, and twisted...Stitch shut his eyes...
And when Stitch opened his eyes...they were blazing gold, and the Seraphim Code...awoke...